PDK/Gallup Poll again offers inaccurate educational choice polling results
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The American Federation for Children, the nation’s voice for educational choice, challenged the results of the PDK/Gallup poll on “Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools.” Yet again, the poll paid for by Phi Delta Kappa, a lobbying organization for public education, posed misleading questions on private school choice.
“It is disappointing to see this organization put out the same misleading poll questions again this year,” said Kevin P. Chavous, executive counsel of the American Federation for Children. “We have seen school choice sweep the nation this year with four states creating their first program and eight new programs created in total. These options are providing educational opportunity for children and giving parents more and better choices. These poll results are inaccurate and seem designed to obtain the results PDK is looking for.”
The PDK/Gallup poll asks “Do you favor or oppose allowing students and parents to choose a private school to attend at a public expense?” and then go on to say 87 percent oppose “vouchers” when the word was never even used in the question and the phrasing of the question is intended to give a negative impression of private school choice.
AFC’s national poll, released earlier this year, and conducted by a Democratic pollster, features a straightforward question concerning support of vouchers and opportunity scholarship programs.
“Do you support or oppose opportunity scholarships, also known as school vouchers, which allow eligible students to receive publicly funded scholarships to attend a private school of their parents’ choice?”
The national poll of likely voters found that 63 percent supported publicly funded vouchers as a method for school choice. The findings also show a majority of Democrats (53%) support Opportunity Scholarships/school vouchers, while Independents (62% support) and Republicans (75% support) have even higher numbers.
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American Federation for Children is the nation’s leading school choice advocacy organization and works in states across the country to help secure additional, high-quality educational options for families.